Burial-vault.



M. CLARKSON.

BURIAL VAULT.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.6, 1911.

1,030,885, Patented June 25,1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

l7 M JQ I COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 60., WASHINGTON, D. c.

M. GLARKSON.

I IEB.6, 1911. 1,030,385, Patented June 25, 1912.

Z SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Mchae Claw/mow NITE MICHAEL CLARKSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BURIAL-VAULT.

Specification of Letters Iatent.

Patented June 25, 1912.

Application filed February 6, 1911. Serial No. 606,952.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MICHAEL GLARKSON, citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvementsin Burial-Vaults, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

Myinvention relates'to burial boxes orf vaults that are adapted to be used as a substitute for the usual wooden box that is ordinarily furnished by under-takers and embalmers and placed in a grave for the retary perspective view of one corner of the ception of the burial casket.

One of the objects of my invention is to make such a box of concrete slabs or plates in a knockdown manner and having interlocking and interchangeable parts so when a grave is dug deep enough the same may be utilized for the burial of several bodies instead of one as is usually the case.

It is also an object of my invention to construct a deviceof this character in such manmay be divided into two; or more separate compartments.

This construction of a burial box is also well adapted for use outside of the grave and by the application of a more or less pretentious design several of the same may be mounted one upon the other and the whole used as a mausoleum. In this case the parts are retained in proper position by means of asuitable bracket at the corners.

This I accomplish by the means and in the manner hereinafter fully described and as more particularly pointed out in the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved burial box, having the corner or upper plate thereof removed. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the same lengthened and divided. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section of a grave showing several of theboxes superimposed upon each other. Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal section of a fragmentary portion of the bottom plate showing the overlapping arrangement of the sections thereof. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of my improved vault adapted for use'as a mausoleum, showing one end of the top-plate broken away to show the manner of securing the parts together. Fig. 6 is fragmensame showing the corner fastening in detail and drawn to an enlarged scale. F ig. 7 is an enlarged transverse section showing the dowels for holding the walls in position. Fig. 8 is a fragmentary broken-away portion showing the relative arrangement of the dowels and slots.

Referring to the drawings, 10 represents a suitable floor-slab that is substantially rectangular in shape and preferably longitudinally elongated as shown. This floor on account of its being made of a solid mass of concrete is preferably divided mediate its ends, the contacting edges 11 of the divided sections being beveled so as to overlap each other, and the side and end edges of said slab are provided with rabbets or grooves 12. Vertically disposed side-walls 13, 13, andend-walls 1 1, 14 of rectangular outline have their lower edges seated in these rabbets 12, and the vertical edges 15 of said walls that contact wit-h each other are preferably beveled or mitered as shown so as to form a neat corner fit.

The top-plate or cover 16, for the vault is preferably of the same general construction as the floor-slab 10 so as to be inter-' changeable therewith, and the same has a rabbeted edge 17, extending around the same in which the upper edges of the vertical side and end walls are seated.

In order to construct a vault comprising several sections or compartments, "prefer ably superimposed one upon the other, a suitable horizontally disposed dividing floorslab or partition 18 is placed on. the upper edges of the walls as shown in sectional view in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The edges of these intermediate slabs are preferably provided with rabbets 19 on boththeir upper and lower surfaces as shown so as to form a seat into which the upper or lower edges of the respective wall plates are adapted to rest.

WVhen the vault has been assembled in the positions shown in Fig. 3, (whether it comprises one or a plurality of compartinents) it is unnecessary to provide any means for securing the parts together for the reason that, when the earth has been thrown into the grave opening and packed tightly around the vault the walls will press against the sidesof their seats and be firmly held together, substantially as shown.

In constructing a vault of this type it may often be found economical to form two compartments that are longitudinally disposed with their ends abutting each other. Such a construction and the manner of carrying out the same is illustrated in plan view in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The bottom or floorslab 10 is provided with an elongated section 20 the side edges of which'are rabbeted in the usual manner, and the wall plates 13 are provided with suitable extensions 21, that abut the mitered ends of said walls and are seated in the rabbeted edge of the floor-slabs. The inside face of the walls are provided with oppositely disposed grooves 22, 22, and a suitable removable partition 23 is slid into two of these grooves to divide the interior longitudinally into two small compartments of substantially the same size.

The construction of the vault first above described is well adapted for a mausoleum or burial vault to be used above ground, and, with the application of more or less elaborate design on the exterior of the various slabs and wall-plates, will present an esthetic appearance. The side and end walls A, and B, of this mausoleum, as well as the topplate C, the fioorslab D, and the intermediate plate E are each constructed in the manner first above described, the edges of the latter plates being provided with rabbets e in which the wall plates are seated. However, the upper and lower edges of the wall plates are preferably provided with suitable dowel-pins or studs a that are embedded in the same and are adapted to project into elongated alining recesses a made in the upper or lower surface of the rabbets. These dowels and recesses prevent the lateral displacement of the walls but permit of a slight longitudinal movement of the walls, and in order to securely lock the walls together suitable angular corner-plates F are provided. These corner-plates are preferably a rectangular strip of metal bent transversely at right angles to itself and have slots f cut in their longitudinal edges. The slots f are preferably inclined and have an ofiset recess f at or near their inner end so that when, the corner-plates are placed in register with suitable studs or buttons Gr projecting from interior of the wall plates A and B, and forced on to said studs, said wall plates will be drawn tightly together at their corners.

I prefer in this construction to provide the contacting end edges of the wall plates with rabbets H as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 instead of mitering the same, and, before said plates are placed in position I preferably coat the contacting edges with tar, pitch or place a suitable packing h'between them to seal the same.

I wish it understood that I do not desire to be limited to the particular constructions described or shown herein for it is obvious v that numerous modifications of the specific details are possible without departing from the spirit of my invention, and all such changes I desire to include within the scope of my claims.

What I claim as new is 1. A burial vault comprising several coinpartments each consistingof a floor-slab having rabbeted edges, side-walls the lower edges of which are seated in said rabbets and have their ends rabbeted on their inner sides, endwalls the end edges of which engage the rabbeted edges of the side-walls, means for normally preventing the lateral movement of the engaged edges of said parts, a suitable cover, horizontal partitions the edges of which are rabbeted on both sides, studs projecting from the surface of said walls adjacent the end edges thereof, and brackets having converging slots in their edges that engage said studs for securing the contacting edges of the side and end walls together.

2. A burial vault comprising several compartments each consisting of a floor-slab having rabbeted edges, side-walls the lower edges of which are seated in said rabbets and have their ends rabbeted on their inner sides, end-walls the end edges ofwhich engage the rabbeted edges of the side-walls means for normally preventing the lateral movement of the engaged edges of said parts, a suitable cover, horizontal partitions the edges of which are rabbeted on both sides, studs projecting from the surface of said walls adjacent the end edges thereof, and angular corner-plates having converging slots in their longitudinal edges that engage'said studs and move the contacting edges of the side and end walls together when forced down on the studs.

3. A burial vault comprising a floor-slab, side-walls and end-walls, and atop, dowels projecting from the longitudinal edges of said side-Walls, recesses in said floor-slab and together and compress said packing When top into Whichsaid dowels project, packing forced down on the studs. 10 interposed between the contacting edges of In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my said side and end-Walls, studs projecting hand this 31st day of January, 1911.

from the surfaces of said Walls adjacent the MICHAEL CLARKSON. corners, and angular corner-plates having Witnesses:

converging slots in their longitudinal edges E. K. LUNDY,

that engage said studs and move said Walls F. R. MITCHELL.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

